Cardiac Rehab in Canton, Ohio, and Surrounding Communities

In 2007, Mercy Cardiac Rehabilitation became the first program in Stark County to be certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR).

One of the area’s oldest established programs, Mercy Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program has helped patients and their families with both physical and psychological recovery from heart disease. Cardiac Rehabilitation provides a safe, supervised program of exercise and education in a medical setting, with immediate access to emergency care. The program is specially designed and individually adapted to help patients with the following cardiac disorders resume active and productive lives:

A Program Designed For Your Recovery

Cardiac Rehab is designed to improve your recovery from heart disease with education and activities to help you:

Reduce the potential for further heart disease

Recognize the signs of heart disease and when to seek medical attention

Begin a monitored exercise program appropriate to your condition

Understand your heart medications

Prepare you to return to work (if appropriate)

The program’s psychological benefits are matched by impressive statistics for physical health, including:

20-25 percent reduction in death during the first year after a heart attack

62 percent reduction in need for re-admission to hospital after one year

40 percent reduction in hospital admissions

Fewer visits to the emergency room

Lower medication expenses

Improved ability to return to work

Improved symptoms in patients with angina and congestive heart failure

Improved exercise tolerance

25 percent reduction in smoking

In addition to the standard exercise equipment used in the fight against heart disease – treadmills, stationary bikes, stair climbers, rowing machines and weight machines – an impressive array of health professionals add their expertise to Mercy Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehab Program. These physicians, registered nurses, registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and psychologists are on hand to help as needed in the rehabilitation of every patient. For patients’ safety, trained trauma care physicians and staff are on-site in case of an emergency.

Four Steps to Better Health

Mercy Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehab Program is a four-phase program. Promoting stability through activity and education, Phase 1 begins and ends when you’re in the hospital. Phase 1 concentrates on learning about cardiac risk factors and beginning low-intensity exercise. Education is offered for both the family and the patient explaining what the patient should and should not do. Patients are encouraged to begin walking and moving around.

After you return home from the hospital, Phase 2 begins. Three times each week, Phase 2 patients return to the hospital as outpatients. They are given an exercise program and are closely monitored by nurses as they exercise. Phase 2 also includes weekly education for both patient and family on cardiac risks, including diet, stress management, exercise, and taking proper medications.

Graduates of Phase 2 enter the Phase 3 program – maintenance exercise program – held at Mercy Health Center of North Canton. It is more independent, but still provides the supervision and safety appropriate for patients recovering from heart disease. During a gradual progression towards increased independence, patients’ progress is still monitored, with periodic checks of blood pressure and EKG.

Some patients even progress to one further step – Phase 4, an advanced maintenance program very much like a regular fitness program for patients whose medical condition allows for more independence. Phase 4 patients have the support and supervision of a trained fitness specialist to guide them through their fitness activities. There is no end point to this fitness program – patients can remain in Phase 4 indefinitely.

Do Something NOW

At Mercy’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, we encourage patients of all ages to take proactive measures to benefit their health at the first warning signs of heart-related health risks. While many rehabilitation patients have experienced a heart attack or open heart surgery, others have heart-related symptoms, such as angina and high cholesterol.

But after getting started, most find another reason to stay in the program: They love it. That’s because Mercy Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is more than a supervised exercise/health regime. It’s also fun, providing rehabilitation patients with the chance to socialize with others of their own age group and health circumstances. Often, the program’s psychological benefits are just as important as the physical benefits it offers.